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Consequences of
political activism and questions that need answering
by meredith Delandelles <mdelandelles@wchcs.tas.gov.au>
wrote:
My name is Meredith de Landelles, formerly of Darwin in the Northern
Territory, but now residing in Zeehan on the West Coast of Tasmania. I
am employed as the Youth Health Worker on the West Coast of Tasmania.
On Wednesday the 5th of March 2003 my fiancé, Scott White, was
arrested for extradition to the Northern Territory from Tasmania to
face charges relating to protest activities.
Extradition is usually reserved for perpetrators of violent crimes such
as murder or rape, yet Scott was extradited for (allegedly) disturbing
the legislative assembly during a protest against the Northern
Territory Labor Government’s draconian Drug House Legislation and other
lesser charges including a completely false charge of damaging business
premises.
Scott and I are now living in Tasmania. We did not in any way try to
pervert the course of justice by leaving the Northern Territory. I had
applied for a job in January of 2002 (well before any Network Against
Prohibition actions had taken place) on the West Coast of Tasmania and
in July 2002 I had an interview for that job and decided to accept the
position.
The reasons for this were many and varied, but the most important of
these was the quality of life of our child. Scott and I did not believe
the Northern Territory would enable her to grow up with the right for
thoughts of her own without persecution.
After arriving in Tasmania, Scott called the Police Prosecutions
department of the Northern Territory Police to inform them of our
whereabouts. The Northern Territory Police has been in possession of
our address and phone numbers since October 2002. Scott told them
during that conversation that we had little money for legal
representation and the Northern Territory Legal Aid had told him they
would not represent him unless he pleaded guilty, which he was not
going to do.
He told the Police Prosecutions department that he wanted some time to
study legal process to enable him to defend himself competently. Scott
freely gave them our address and phone numbers at that time.
After Scott was remanded into the custody of Sergeant Hockings of the
Northern Territory Police I asked the Sergeant why they didn’t call us
to inform us of a new court date so he could get there himself rather
than go through the humiliation of an extradition. We live in a very
small community where he holds the position of Coordinator at the local
Community Centre. Sergeant Hockings said, in a derogatory tone, "Oh he
wouldn’t have shown up".
I told him that I am Scott’s partner and know him better than anyone
and know what that he would indeed have presented to court under his
own steam if given the opportunity. A simple $2 phone call would have
saved the Northern Territory Tax Payers thousands of dollars in
extradition costs.
If he then did not appear before the Magistrate extradition proceedings
may have been justified.
We have a child, Ellienne (9), and two foster children (aged 15 &
18) living with us who look up to him as a father figure and as a
positive male role model. This has been most distressing for them
considering the minor charges for which he was taken into custody. The
behavioural or emotional challenges associated with young people who
have experienced traumatic events and are in foster care should be self
evident.
Stability and certainty in their life and the world around them is
imperative if any effective intervention and positive change is going
to be achieved.
Extraditing Scott has been totally destabilising for the entire family
and my child and foster children are displaying extreme mood swings and
outbursts of aggression and depression since being told of the
situation.
They all insisted on attending the extradition hearing to show support
and family unity.
Scott also has a job as the coordinator of the Zeehan Neighbourhood
Centre, is president of the Police and Citizens Youth Club in Zeehan,
and plays an important role in building community capacity within the
local area. He takes an active role in community events and activities,
and is a positive male role model for some of the most disadvantaged
youth in the area.
His current employer has advised that his employment is not in jeopardy
and he is fully supported by the Zeehan Neighbourhood Centre Inc. His
employer was aware of his status with the Northern Territory Police
before he was extradited.
It may appear to some that we moved for Scott to escape persecution
from theNorthern Territory Police for protest activities of which we
were both involved, yet if this was the case we certainly wouldn’t be
attending protests here in Tasmania which we have done on many
occasions given the abhorrent situation brewing in the Middle East and
the continuing inhumane treatment of refugees by the Australian
Government.
It is my understanding that we live in a democracy and that freedom of
speech and the right to protest are fundamentals of a democracy. So is
the right to information. I would like explanations for the following:
1. Why did the Northern Territory Police extradite Scott White to the
Northern Territory for charges related to protest activities which are
fundamental rights in a democracy?
2. Why does it appear as though Sargent Hockings lied in the witness
boxwhen Scott was given the opportunity to ask him questions during the
extradition hearing? When Scott asked him why he had not been issued
with a summons to answer the charges, Sargent Hockings stated that all
attempts to locate Scott White had proved fruitless. This is a lie as
Scott had called the Northern Territory Police Prosecutions to give
them our new residential details in October 2002.
3. How could someone who is contributing to his local community to the
extent that Scott is here on the West Coast of Tasmania, be extradited
for such minor offences?
4. How could someone who has a fiancé, child and two foster
children, stable employment, and no previous convictions for any
offences be extradited for such minor offences?
5. How can freedom of speech and the right to protest not be
fundamental rights in the Northern Territory as they should be in any
democracy?
6. How can the Northern Territory Government justify spending Tax Payer
dollars on such an expensive extradition procedure when there were much
less expensive alternatives that could have at least been attempted
first.?
7. Why does it appear that this is a politically motivated decision by
a struggling Northern Territory Labor Government?
8. Why did the Northern Territory Government feel that it was
appropriate to extradite Scott three days before his birthday (11th of
March) which was clearly printed on the warrants for his arrested? This
is cruel and unusual punishment which has devastated our family and the
particular need we have for stability for the foster children we have
taken in voluntarily. To add to the devastation we are feeling, my
birthday was the day after the extradition (9th of March).
9. Why is the Northern Territory Government so threatened by a non
violent protest group?
10. When will I, and the other members of our family here in Tasmania,
be able to see Scott again? Will he be able to come back to live and
work with us in our community while awaiting his court appearances?
Does the Government of the Northern Territory intend for Scott to lose
his employment and destabilise the lives of young Australians as
punishment for disagreeing with their draconian and inhumane drug house
legislation.
11. Why didn’t the Tasmanian Magistrates Court overturn such a
ridiculous and obviously politically motivated extradition?
12. Why was Scott unable to complete his statement during his
extradition hearing? He was told by Magistrate Tim Hill that he did not
want to hear a political statement. As this was directly related to the
extradition charges it should have been admissible and taken into
consideration.
13. A CIB detective with the Tasmanian Police told me any contact with
Scott was at Sargent Hockings discretion and I had to be nice to him if
we wanted to be able say goodbye to Scott. Why did I have to "be nice"
to Sargent Hockings so I, and my children, could spend some time with
Scott before he was sent to Darwin? I would have thought that would be
a basic human right. Why did my 9 year old daughter need to be searched
before she saw him? I feel that is a total invasion of her rights as a
child and of my right as a parent to keep my child safe.
I believe detailed explanations to the above queries would make it
easier for me to accept this situation and explain it to my child and
foster children.
I fear that we do not live in the democracy we think we do. I don’t
believe that any of the actions taken against non violent protesters in
the Northern Territory were warranted, nor do I believe an extradition
is warranted for these offences. I too have been arrested in the
Northern Territory for protest activities. In my situation I was
sitting on a box watching other people engage in protest activities at
a tent embassy outside Parliament House in Darwin. I was asked to leave
and I explained to the officers on numerous occasions that I was only
watching and not participating in any way, and that I had the
permission of an aboriginal elder of the Larrakeyah people, the
traditional owners of the land, to be there.
I was then dragged along the grass painfully while I was telling them I
had to walk slowly because of a tropical ulcer on my foot which they
broke open due to their excessively rough handling. My ulcer breaking
open and coming into contact with the bare ground was quite dangerous
due to a soil disease prevalent in Darwin which is lethal. As I had
kept asking the police to slow down, told them the reason why and they
didn’t, I believe they intentionally put me at risk of the soil
disease.
I was grabbed by the throat and pushed into the back of a police van
when I asked if I could make sure my 9 year old daughter was with her
partner and could get home safely. I was put into the cells at Berrimah
Police Station for 3 ½ hours and was not allowed to change my
tampon in privacy (and I therefore refused to change it and I was put
at
risk of toxic shock syndrome by the Northern Territory Police Force).
All this for sitting on a box and watching protest activity. Will I be
extradited as well?
We are a normal family with kids, pets, schools, jobs and a mortgage.
We try to have as small an impact on our environment as we can and live
with an environmental conscience. We both work in the community welfare
system and believe that human rights and social justice are the basis
of a equitable society, and working in the welfare system only
strengthens our beliefs. We stand up for what we believe is wrong.
Should we, and the children who live with us, suffer for this?
I fear for Scott’s safety in the Northern Territory. I fear persecution
and violence may be perpetrated against Scott in the hands of the
Northern Territory Police Force. This is a very distressing period for
our family and I would appreciate a response as soon as possible so we
can start getting our lives into perspective once again. Please help us
to understand how what has happened fits into the just and democratic
society we are told we live in - that we want to live in.
Sincerely
____________________________________
Meredith de Landelles
Youth Health Worker
West Coast Health & Community Services
Phone: 0364735123
Mobile: 0419551656
Fax: 0364735125
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